0913-15 New York Times Crossword Answers 13 Sep 15, Sunday

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CROSSWORD SETTER: Joe DiPietro
THEME: To Put It Differently … we have some cryptic clues for today’s themed answers, with the answers using the positions of the words in the clues. So, the answers use synonyms of each of the two words in the clue, and the synonyms are connected by a positional word or phrase:

21A. COMPLETE PLAN : FINISH AHEAD OF SCHEDULE (“complete” ahead of “plan”)
34A. GRAY FOX : AGE BEFORE BEAUTY (“gray” before “fox”)
50A. BIG DEALS : GRAND OPENING SALES (“big” opening “deals”)
75A. NEWSPAPER ROUTE : WAY BEHIND THE TIMES (“route” behind“newspaper”)
88A. MORE UNITED : ONE AFTER ANOTHER (“united” after “more”)
106A. GO FIGURE : FORM FOLLOWING FUNCTION (“figure” following “go”)

BILL BUTLER’S COMPLETION TIME: 20m 47s
ANSWERS I MISSED: 0

Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across

8. Spiral-horned grazer : KUDU
The kudu is a type of antelope. The are two extant species: the lesser kudu of eastern Africa, and the greater kudu of eastern and southern Africa. The kudu horn is used as a musical instrument, as a horn.

12. Santa ___, Calif. : CLARA
The Santa Clara Valley, just a few miles from me at the south of San Francisco Bay, is better known as “Silicon Valley”. The term “Silicon Valley” dates back to 1971 when it was apparently first used in a weekly trade newspaper called “Electronic News” in articles written by journalist Don Hoefler.

24. Brewer’s supply : YEAST
Yeasts are unicellular microorganisms in the Fungi kingdom. The species of yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been used for centuries in the making of wine and beer, and in breadmaking. Saccharomyces cerevisiae converts carbohydrates into carbon dioxide and alcohol in the process of fermentation. When making beer and wine, the carbon dioxide and alcohol may be captured by the liquid. When making bread, the carbon dioxide and alcohol is driven off by heat.

26. Where Hecuba was queen : TROY
Hecuba was the wife of King Priam of Troy in Greek mythology. Queen Hecuba had 19 children with King Priam, including Hector, Paris and Cassandra the prophetess.

28. “___ & the Women” (2000 Gere film) : DR T
The 2000 movie “Dr. T & the Women” is a pretty good film, starring Richard Gere in the title role. There can’t be many romantic comedies about gynecologists …

29. Kind of paper : MANILA
Manila folders and envelopes were originally made from manila hemp, hence the name.

42. Subduer, of a sort : TASER
Victor Appleton wrote a novel for young adults called “Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle”. The company that developed the TASER electroshock weapon named its product as a homage to the novel. The acronym TASER stands for “Thomas A. Swift’s Electric Rifle”.

46. Like dams : FEMALE
A dam is a female parent, especially of four-footed domestic animals such as horses.

47. Certain absentee : TRUANT
“Truant” is such a lovely word. We have been using it to describe someone who wanders from an appointed place since the mid-1400s. Prior to that a truant was a beggar or a vagabond.

49. Lady of la casa : SENORA
In Spanish, the lady of the house (la casa) might be referred to as “Señora”.

61. Abbr. preceding a year : ESTD
Established (estd.)

62. Grp. of women drivers : LPGA
The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) was founded in 1950 by a group of 13 lady golfers, and today it is the oldest ongoing women’s sports professional organization in the US.

69. Like the book “Zhuangzi” : TAOIST
The Chinese character “tao” translates as “path”, but the concept of Tao signifies the true nature of the world.

Zhuangzi (also Chuang Tse) was a 4th century BC Chinese philosopher. Tradition states that Zhuangzi wrote a book that bears his name, which contains stories illustrating the carefree nature of an ideal follower of Taoism.

73. “A deadline every minute” sloganeer : UPI
Founded in 1958, United Press International (UPI) was one of the biggest news agencies in the world, sending out news by wire to the major newspapers. UPI ran into trouble with the change in media formats at the end of the twentieth century and lost many of its clients as the afternoon newspapers shut down due to the advent of television news. UPI, which once employed thousands, still exists today but with just a handful of employees.

84. Dish name : PETRI
Julius Richard Petri was a German bacteriologist and was the man after whom the Petri dish is named. The petri dish can have an agar gel on the bottom which acts a nutrient source for the specimen being grown and studied, in which case the dish plus agar is referred to as an “agar plate”.

99. Letters in a return address? : IRS
April 15th wasn’t always Tax Day in the US. The deadline for returns was March 1st from 1913-18, when it was moved to March 15th. Tax Day has been April 15th since 1955.

103. Star trek figures? : MAGI
“Magi” is the plural of the Latin word “magus”, a term applied to someone who was able to read the stars. Hence, magi is commonly used with reference to the “wise men from the East” who followed the star and visited Jesus soon after he was born.

112. Houses named after an old house : TUDORS
The Wars of the Roses was a series of civil wars fought for the throne of England between the rival Houses of Lancaster and York. Ultimately the Lancastrians emerged victorious after Henry Tudor defeated King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field. Henry was crowned King Henry VII, and so began the Tudor dynasty. Henry Tudor united the rival houses by marrying his cousin Elizabeth of York. Henry VII had a relatively long reign of 23 years that lasted until his death, after which his son succeeded to the throne as Henry VIII, continuing the relatively short-lived Tudor dynasty. Henry VIII ruled from 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry VIII was the last male to lead the the House of Tudor, as his daughter Queen Elizabeth I died without issue. When Elizabeth died, the Scottish King James VI succeeded to the throne as James I of England and Ireland. James I was the first English monarch of the House of Stuart.

114. One in business? : SILENT I
The letter “I” in the word “business” is silent, not pronounced.

115. Malibu ___ (“The Simpsons” parody doll) : STACY
In the TV show “The Simpsons”, the toy doll Malibu Stacy is a parody of the celebrated Barbie doll, and in particular the Teen Talk Barbie line of talking dolls.

Down
2. Heard : TRIED
To hear a case, is to try a case.

3. Echolocation device : SONAR
The British developed the first underwater detection system that used sound waves. Research was driven by defence demands during WWI, leading to production of working units in 1922. This new sound detection system was described as using “supersonics”, but for the purpose of secrecy the term was dropped in favor of an acronym. The work was done under the auspices of the Royal Navy’s Anti-Submarine Division, so ASD was combined with the IC from “superson-ic-s” to create the name ASDIC. The navy even went as far as renaming the quartz material at the heart of the technology “ASDivite”. By the time WWII came along, the Americans were producing their own systems and coined the term SONAR, playing off the related application, RADAR. And so the name ASDIC was deep-sixed …

5. Part of V.M.I.: Abbr. : INST
The Virginia Military Institute is one of the six senior military colleges in the country, and is located in Lexington, Virginia. The sports teams of VMI are known as the Keydets, southern slang for “cadets”.

6. ___-jongg : MAH
“Mahjong” (also mahjongg and mah-jongg) is the Chinese word for “sparrow”. Mahjong is a game that originated in China, and is usually played by four players. There is a myth that the game was developed by the Chinese philosopher, Confucius. The myth also suggests that Confucius was fond of birds, and hence chose the name “sparrow”.

7. Greek vowel : ETA
Eta is the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet, and is a forerunner of our Latin character “H”. Originally denoting a consonant, eta was used as a long vowel in Ancient Greek.

8. Joshes : KIDS AROUND
When the verb “to josh” was first used in the 1840s, as an American slang term, it was written with a capital J. It is likely then that the term somehow comes from the proper name “Joshua”, but no one seems to remember why.

9. ___ Chicago Grill : UNO
The chain of pizza parlors known today as Uno Chicago Grill used to be called Pizzeria Uno, or just “Uno’s”. Apparently Uno’s created the world’s first deep dish pizza.

11. 1991 breakup newsmaker : USSR
The former Soviet Union (USSR) was created in 1922, not long after the Russian Revolution of 1917 that overthrew the Tsar. Geographically, the new Soviet Union was roughly equivalent to the old Russian Empire, and was comprised of fifteen Soviet Socialist Republics (SSRs).

13. Ford sold during Ford’s presidency : LTD
There has been a lot of speculation about what the abbreviation LTD stands for in the car model known as “Ford LTD”. Many say it is an initialism standing for Luxury Trim Decor, and others say that it is short for “limited”. Although the car was produced in Australia with the initialism meaning Lincoln Type Design, it seems LTD was originally chosen as just three meaningless letters that sound well together.

15. Loggers’ jamboree : ROLEO
Roleo is the name given to a log-rolling competition traditionally engaged in by lumberjacks

16. 1985 instrumental hit named after the main character in “Beverly Hills Cop” : AXEL F
The memorable theme track for the 1984 film “Beverly Hills Cop” is called “Axel F”. The title of the instrumental track comes from the character Axel Foley, played by Eddie Murphy. I hear that it’s a coincidence that the tune happens to be in the key of F minor …

18. Something an “o” lacks : SERIF
Serifs are details on the ends of characters in some typefaces. Typefaces without serifs are known as sans-serif (using the French word “sans” meaning “without”). Some people say that serif fonts are easier to read on paper, whereas sans-serif fonts work better on a computer screen. I’m not so sure though …

19. ___ Sandoval, 2012 World Series M.V.P. : PABLO
Pablo Sandoval is a Major League third baseman from Venezuela. Sandoval has the cute and cuddle nickname “Kung Fu Panda”, a nickname given to him by teammate Barry Zito when they played together for the San Francisco Giants.

29. Part of some showers : METEOR
The two most famous meteor showers are the Perseids and Leonids. The Perseid meteor shower is most visible around August 12th each year, and the Leonid meteor shower is most notable around November 17th. The Perseids appear to emanate from the constellation Perseus, and the Leonids from the constellation Leo (hence the names “Perseids” and “Leonids”).

30. Sports org. whose first champ was the Pittsburgh Pipers : ABA
The Pittsburgh Condors (originally the Pittsburgh Pipers) were a pro basketball team in the American Basketball Association (ABA). The Condors folded in 1972.

33. Cannon of “Heaven Can Wait” : DYAN
The actress Dyan Cannon is perhaps best known for playing Alice in the 1969 film “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice”, for which she received a Best Actress Oscar nomination. Cannon is also famous for having been on Cary Grant’s long list of wives, from 1965 to 1968 (and he was 33 years her senior).

The 1978 comedy “Heaven Can Wait” starring Warren Beatty was the second film adaptation of the stage play of the same name by Harry Segall. The first big screen adaptation was 1941’s “Here Comes Mr. Jordan” with Robert Montgomery heading the cast. There was a third movie adaption called “Down to Earth”, released in 2001 with Chris Rock playing the lead.

35. Neuter : GELD
We can use the verb “to geld” to mean “to weaken, deprive of strength”. The term comes from the act of gelding an animal, castration of the male. “Geld” comes from the Old Norse word “gelda” meaning “castrate”.

38. Grammy-winning James : ETTA
Etta James was best known for her beautiful rendition of the song “At Last”. Sadly, as she disclosed in her autobiography, James lived a life that was ravaged by drug addiction leading to numerous legal and health problems. Ms. James passed away in January 2012 having suffered from leukemia.

44. Progressive ___ : ERA
The Progressive movement had the goal of eliminating corruption in government in the US. The movement gave its name to the Progressive Era that lasted from the 1890s to the 1920s. Journalists who investigated and exposed corruption were given the name “muckrakers”. The term “muckraker” was popularized by President Theodore Roosevelt when he referred to “the Man with the Muck-rake”, a character in John Bunyan’s allegory “The Pilgrim’s Progress”.

46. Three-pointers: Abbr. : FGS
Field goal (FG)

47. Carpentry fastener : T-NUT
A T-nut is so called because it has a T-shape when viewed from the side.

51. Stressful work? : POESY
“Poesy” is an alternative name for poetry, often used to mean the “art of poetry”.

52. Many figures in the “Doctor Who” universe, for short : ETS
Extraterrestrial (ET)

The iconic science-fiction television show “Doctor Who” was first aired in 1963, and relaunched in 2005 by the BBC. The relaunched series is produced in-house by the BBC in Cardiff in Wales, the location that is the setting of the successful “Doctor Who” spin-off called “Torchwood”. The new show is about the Cardiff branch of the Torchwood Institute which investigates incidents involving extraterrestrials (ETs).

69. Nutrition bar introduced in the 1960s : TIGER’S MILK
Schiff Nutrition International used the slogan “America’s Original Nutrition Bar” for its Tiger’s Milk product. The Tiger’s Milk nutrition bar was introduced back in the sixties.

74. “Al Aaraaf” writer : POE
The poem “Al Aaraaf” is one of Edgar Allan Poe’s earliest, published in 1829 when Poe was just 20 years of age. “Al Aaraaf” is also Poe’s longest poem. As “Al Aaraaf” was not well received by the public, Poe later adopted the position that poems should be kept short.

81. Monopoly token replaced in 2013 : IRON
There are eight tokens included in the game of Monopoly as of 2013. These are the wheelbarrow, battleship, racecar, thimble, boot, Scottie dog, top hat and cat. The latest to be introduced was the cat in 2013, replacing the iron. The battleship and the cannon (aka howitzer, now retired) had been added to the Monopoly game as part of a recycling exercise. The pieces were intended for the game “Conflict” released in 1940, but when Parker Bros. pulled “Conflict” off the market due to poor sales, they added their excess battleships and cannons to Monopoly.

87. Sport-___ : UTE
A utility vehicle is often called a “ute” for short. Nowadays one mainly hears about sports utes and crossover utes.

89. Dough that’s been raised overseas? : EUROS
The “eurozone” or “euro area” is a monetary and economic union within the European Union that uses the euro as a shared legal tender and sole currency.

90. De la Garza of “Law & Order” : ALANA
Alana de la Garza is an actress from Columbus, Ohio. De la Garza is perhaps best known for her recurring role as Connie Rubirosa on television’s “Law & Order”.

93. Steelhead, e.g. : TROUT
The steelhead and rainbow trout are actually the same species. The difference is that rainbow trout spend almost their whole lives in freshwater. Steelheads spend much of their lives in estuaries or open ocean, returning to freshwater to spawn.

94. Old F.D.A. guideline : US RDA
Recommended Daily Allowances (RDAs) were introduced during WWII and are a set of recommendations for the standard daily allowances of specific nutrients. RDAs were effectively absorbed into a broader set of dietary guidelines in 1997 called Recommended Daily Intakes (RDIs). RDIs are used to determine the Daily Values (DV) of foods that are printed on nutrition fact labels on most food that we purchase.

98. Conservative I.R.A. asset : T-NOTE
A Treasury note (T-Note) is a government debt that matures in 1-10 years. A T-Note has a coupon (interest) payment made every six months. The T-note is purchased at a discount to face value, and at the date of maturity can be redeemed at that face value. A T-Bill is a similar financial vehicle, but it matures in one year or less, and a T-Bond matures in 20-30 years.

104. Rights org. : ACLU
The American Civil Liberties Union (The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has its roots in the First World War when it was founded to provide legal advice and support to conscientious objectors. The ACLU’s motto is “Because Freedom Can’t Protect Itself”. The ACLU also hosts a blog on the ACLU.org website called “Speak Freely”.

105. Sooner city : ENID
Enid, Oklahoma takes its name from the old railroad station around which the city developed. Back in 1889, that train stop was called Skeleton Station. An official who didn’t like the name changed it to Enid Station, using a character from Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “Idylls of the King”. Maybe if he hadn’t changed the name, the city of Enid would now be called Skeleton, Oklahoma! Enid has the nickname “Queen Wheat City” because is has a huge capacity for storing grain, the third largest grain storage capacity in the world.

The 1889 Indian Appropriations Act officially opened up the so called Unassigned Lands, land in Oklahoma on which no Native American tribes had settled. Once the Act was signed, those lands became available for settlement. Those people that settled the same lands illegally, prior the date specified, they were termed “Sooners” as their situation was defined in the “sooner clause” of the Act. “Sooner State” is now the nickname for Oklahoma.

107. Cozy footwear, informally : MOC
“Moc” is short for “moccasin”, the type of shoe.

108. Food item dipped in ketchup : FRY
The term “ketchup” may be of Chinese origin. One suggestion is that the name comes from “kôe-chiap”, meaning the brine of pickled fish. The name may also come from the Chinese “jyutping”, meaning “tomato sauce”.

109. Largest New Deal agcy. : WPA
The Work Progress Administration (WPA) was the largest of the New Deal agencies. The WPA employed millions of people during the Depression, putting them to work on various public works projects. The total spending through the WPA from 1936 to 1939 was nearly $7 billion. We have to give the federal government credit for taking an enlightened view of what types of project qualified for financial support, so artists who could not get commissions privately were hired by the government itself. The result is a collection of “New Deal Art”, including a series of murals that can be found in post offices around the country to this day.

110. Kind of port : USB
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard dealing with how computers and electronic devices connect and communicate, and deal with electrical power through those connections.

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For the sake of completion, here is a full listing of all the answers:
Across
1. “We must go” : ITS TIME
8. Spiral-horned grazer : KUDU
12. Santa ___, Calif. : CLARA
17. View with disapproval : FROWN AT
18. Quills : SPINES
20. Email folder : OUT-BOX
21. COMPLETE PLAN : FINISH AHEAD OF SCHEDULE (“complete” ahead of “plan”)
24. Brewer’s supply : YEAST
25. Round figures : ORBS
26. Where Hecuba was queen : TROY
27. Certain monthly bill: Abbr. : TEL
28. “___ & the Women” (2000 Gere film) : DR T
29. Kind of paper : MANILA
31. Many : LOADS OF
34. GRAY FOX : AGE BEFORE BEAUTY (“gray” before “fox”)
39. It may help you get a grip on things : PINE TAR
41. Skips : OMITS
42. Subduer, of a sort : TASER
46. Like dams : FEMALE
47. Certain absentee : TRUANT
49. Lady of la casa : SENORA
50. BIG DEALS : GRAND OPENING SALES (“big” opening “deals”)
54. What may unfold in Japanese theater? : FAN
55. Place for plates : SINK
56. Roly-poly : ROTUND
57. Annoy no end : EAT AT
59. Easter sight : LILY
61. Abbr. preceding a year : ESTD
62. Grp. of women drivers : LPGA
65. Whole slew : SCAD
67. Sweeties : DEARS
69. Like the book “Zhuangzi” : TAOIST
71. “No argument here” : TRUE
73. “A deadline every minute” sloganeer : UPI
75. NEWSPAPER ROUTE : WAY BEHIND THE TIMES (“route” behind the “newspaper”)
80. Series of lows : MOOING
82. Saws : ADAGES
83. It signals a lack of support : NO-VOTE
84. Dish name : PETRI
85. Door ___ : PRIZE
86. Says “You no-good son of a …,” say : MUTTERS
88. MORE UNITED : ONE AFTER ANOTHER (“united” after “more”)
92. 42-Across, for example : STUN GUN
95. School boards : SLATES
96. Make a selection : OPT
99. Letters in a return address? : IRS
100. Pause : REST
103. Star trek figures? : MAGI
104. Harmoniously : AS ONE
106. GO FIGURE : FORM FOLLOWING FUNCTION (“figure” following “go”)
112. Houses named after an old house : TUDORS
113. Not dead, as a football : IN PLAY
114. One in business? : SILENT I
115. Malibu ___ (“The Simpsons” parody doll) : STACY
116. Top : PEAK
117. Spoke impulsively : BLURTED

Down
1. Borderline : IFFY
2. Heard : TRIED
3. Echolocation device : SONAR
4. Come down wrong, maybe : TWIST AN ANKLE
5. Part of V.M.I.: Abbr. : INST
6. ___-jongg : MAH
7. Greek vowel : ETA
8. Joshes : KIDS AROUND
9. ___ Chicago Grill : UNO
10. Skillful : DEFT
11. 1991 breakup newsmaker : USSR
12. A wink or a nod, maybe : CUE
13. Ford sold during Ford’s presidency : LTD
14. Touches : ABUTS
15. Loggers’ jamboree : ROLEO
16. 1985 instrumental hit named after the main character in “Beverly Hills Cop” : AXEL F
18. Something an “o” lacks : SERIF
19. ___ Sandoval, 2012 World Series M.V.P. : PABLO
20. Words to someone who 8-Down : OH YOU
22. Skill sharpener : HONER
23. Pop group : COLAS
29. Part of some showers : METEOR
30. Sports org. whose first champ was the Pittsburgh Pipers : ABA
32. Bears witness : ATTESTS
33. Cannon of “Heaven Can Wait” : DYAN
35. Neuter : GELD
36. Certain Kindle download, for short : E-MAG
37. Hampers, say : BINS
38. Grammy-winning James : ETTA
39. Wind or fire, maybe, but not earth : PERIL
40. “Stupid me” : I’M AN IDIOT
43. Lightweight protective vest : SOFT ARMOR
44. Progressive ___ : ERA
45. Led … or bled : RAN
46. Three-pointers: Abbr. : FGS
47. Carpentry fastener : T-NUT
48. A waste of good food? : RIND
49. Domain of some international law : SEA
51. Stressful work? : POESY
52. Many figures in the “Doctor Who” universe, for short : ETS
53. Something to lead with? : LEASH
58. Players eligible to suit up : ACTIVE ROSTER
60. In need of coffee, maybe : YAWNING
62. Sprinter’s assignment : LANE
63. Sci-fi vehicles : PODS
64. “Beat it!” : GIT!
66. Airs from pairs : DUETS
68. Item in a mechanic’s back pocket : RAG
69. Nutrition bar introduced in the 1960s : TIGER’S MILK
70. Figures after a decimal : TENTHS
72. Ethnic ending : -ESE
73. One speaking “out”? : UMP
74. “Al Aaraaf” writer : POE
76. [Gross!] : BARF!
77. PC menu heading : EDIT
78. Confusion : HAZE
79. Mall bag : TOTE
81. Monopoly token replaced in 2013 : IRON
85. Board : PANEL
86. Recurring element : MOTIF
87. Sport-___ : UTE
89. Dough that’s been raised overseas? : EUROS
90. De la Garza of “Law & Order” : ALANA
91. Pestering, in a way : NAGGY
92. Sorts (out) : SIFTS
93. Steelhead, e.g. : TROUT
94. Old F.D.A. guideline : US RDA
97. Identify someone in a lineup, say : POINT
98. Conservative I.R.A. asset : T-NOTE
101. Get worse : SLIP
102. Pitch : TONE
104. Rights org. : ACLU
105. Sooner city : ENID
107. Cozy footwear, informally : MOC
108. Food item dipped in ketchup : FRY
109. Largest New Deal agcy. : WPA
110. Kind of port : USB
111. No score : NIL

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